The five men were charged with six counts of murder, 29 counts of attempted murder, and malicious damage to property.

They briefly appeared in the Mecklenburg Magistrate's Court in Limpopo on Thursday before the case was postponed until August 6 for their bail application.

Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the five men will remain in custody.

At the time of the incident in April, Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said: "Two people who pretended to be mineworkers, got onto the bus and set it alight. They then got out and fled."

He said six workers were burnt beyond recognition. The bus driver and the 28 other workers escaped through windows.

AllAfrica publishes around 700 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 700 news and information items daily from over 140 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington DC.